Medicare General Information, Eligibility and Entitlement Manual (Pub. 100-01), Ch. 5 § 20.6
General Hospital Facility of Psychiatric Hospital
20.6 - General Hospital Facility of Psychiatric Hospital
(Rev. 1, 09-11-02)
A general hospital facility within a psychiatric hospital may be certified as a general
hospital independent of the institution as a whole provided the general facility is a self-
contained operational entity distinct from the rest of the institution. The general hospital
facility would be regarded as a separate institution for this purpose since the law does not
provide for certifying a "distinct part' of an institution as a general hospital. Services
furnished in a separately certified general hospital facility are not subject to any of the
benefit limitations applicable to the other parts of the institution, i.e., the reduction in
benefit days in the first spell of illness and the 190-day lifetime maximum on inpatient
services in psychiatric hospitals.